My original reaction when I heard the statement was disbelief. However, the history of sports has shown us some athletes have made the impossible become reality.

“McDavid is just too good,” said Jaromir Jagr when asked about the Edmonton Oilers centre on Thursday. “He’s a great player. If he would learn how to score on breakaways a little more, I think he’d score 150 in a season. He had three goals and three other breakaways. To score 100 goals (in a season) for him… it’s possible. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life, to dominate like that with his speed,” said Jagr.

Jagr knows a thing or two about scoring goals. He sits third all-time with 765 NHL goals. He’s scored 62 in a season, 52 and 54 in other seasons, as well as 47, 44 and 42. He also scored 30+ goals nine times.

McDavid skated circles around the Flames on Wednesday and be blew by some very good defenders in TJ Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Dougie Hamilton on numerous occasions.

One hundred goals in a season seems impossible, but people said the same prior to Wayee Gretzky scoring 92 goals and producing four 200-point seasons. Prior to Gretzky arriving in the NHL, only one player had scored more than 140 points in a season. Phil Esposito did it twice, producing 145 points in 1974 and 152 in 1971.

Jagr went on to explain why he feels McDavid could break a record none of us thought was remotely possible.

“With his speed, in this game right now where you cannot hold and grab… wow, it’s very dangerous. Probably Wayne (Gretzky) and Mario (Lemieux) were the same, but you could grab them and hold them with the stick. These rules are just perfect for [McDavid]. I wouldn’t be surprised if someday he scored 100 goals and broke the record. It is possible,” said Jagr one day after signing a contract with the Calgary Flames.

Jagr, like every other coach and player around the league, will look at ways to stop McDavid.

“The only way to stop him is to play the way he doesn’t like it. Let him play hockey he’s not good at. I’m not sure what kind of game that is. He’s probably good everywhere. Maybe play him on the boards, slow down the game, make sure there are more bodies on the boards.

“If you give him open ice and he just keeps skating and keeps skating, when you don’t make him stop, it’s impossible to stop him. You have to make him stop and make him play defence, otherwise he’s going to score 100 goals,” said Jagr.

McDavid is still maturing, developing and learning different nuances of the NHL. He isn’t close to his peak, and McDavid feels he has room to improve his goal scoring ability.

“I have no problem scoring on the rush but it’s (how to) find the dirty goals,” he said after Wednesday’s victory. Then he offered up a gem of a quote, that illustrates how well he knows his own game.

“I don’t think I’ve scored on one tip, except for my first NHL goal. Those are other ways to score too. I have to figure it out. If you’re flying through the slot, flying by the net, you’re taking yourself out of a chance to score. Arriving on time. The great goal scorers, they know how to do that,” McDavid said.

I thought we saw glimpses of him adding layers to his game on the Oilers first goal. That goal was created by cycling and he, along with Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon, did a fantastic job of tiring out the Flames defence. Then he banged home a Draisaitl rebound/pass-off-the-pads.

As McDavid augments his already off-the-charts abilities, you wonder how many goals he can score.

Only four players have scored 50 goals since 2010/2011.

Evgeni Malkin potted 50 in 2012, Corey Perry had 50 in 2011, Steven Stamkos scored 60 in 2012 and Alex Ovechkin has done it three times — 53 in 2015, 51 in 2014 and 50 in 2016.

The most goals in a season since the turn of the century occurred when Ovechkin scored 65 goals in 2008. The most prior to Ovechkin was Mario Lemieux’s 69 goals in 1996. He only played 70 games.

The last players to score 70 goals were Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne in 1993, when both scored 76, which is the fifth highest single-season total in NHL history.

Lemieux scored 85 in 1989, Brett Hull potted 86 in 1991 and Wayne Gretzky scored 87 in 1984 (74 games) and 92 in 1982.

We have never seen 100 goals in a season, and I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t think it could happen, but as a fan of goal scoring, I truly hope we do see it someday.

I won’t get greedy though. As a fan of hockey, I’d love to see someone score 70 goals again.

Fifty goals would be a massive season for McDavid, but after watching him thoroughly dominate every shift, I wonder how many goals he could score.

Fifty is definitely doable. Stamkos scored 60 just over five seasons ago, so why can’t McDavid score 60? Or even Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine or some of the other young stars in the game?

I asked Milan Lucic about Jagr’s claim.

“I think he is on to something (smiles). It is pretty amazing. Everyone knows what I’ve thought of him since I signed here, and his ability to create opportunities is nothing I’ve seen before in my years in the NHL and watching the NHL. It is good to see he is improving with age,” said Lucic.

Lucic sits beside McDavid in the dressing room and he’s had a front row seat to his on-ice exploits last year. What improvements has he noticed in McDavid’s game?

“Last game he really got it going on the cycle game. We saw it on the first goal. He had a lot of zone time, cycling the puck, shoot and retrieve, shoot and retrieve and then they scored because he was in the right spot. Great players always find different ways to score goals, and he is adjusting. Outside of his incredible skill, he really understands the game and he’s learning different timing on when to go to the scoring areas,” said Lucic.

For McDavid to score 60 or 70 goals, or even Jagr’s prediction of 100, he’ll need some quality linemates. Leon Draisaitl and McDavid are the most dangerous duo in the NHL today. They might not play together all season, but when they are on the ice together, magic happens.

Draisaitl discussed Mcdavid’s goal scoring potential.

“I’m not sure about 100, but I think at one point he will figure out, as bad as this sounds, that over passing the puck will be, I don’t want to say boring for him, but it will be…I don’t the know the correct word in English. I don’t want to say too easy, but he will shoot more. He has a very good shot. His shot is very underrated. I think he can easily score 50 to 60 goals in a season. Maybe he will go higher, but from his skill level and the chances he creates I would not be that surprised,” said Draisaitl.

I’m confident McDavid will score 50 goals in a few seasons. I could see 60 and I won’t be surprised if he potted 70 one year, but if he reaches 80 or above I’ll be amazed. Not because I don’t think he can, but more due to how the game is played and the quality of defencemen and goalies.

When Stamkos scored 60 goals he had 303 shots and a 19.8 SH%. He was a different type of scorer than McDavid. His one-timer from his off-wing is elite. McDavid doesn’t score using one-timers, but he attacks in ways Stamkos and Ovechkin simply can’t.

McDavid had 251 shots last season. His shooting percentage was only 11.9. Crosby led the league in goals with 44 and had a 17.3 SH%. I have no doubt McDavid will score more goals and his SH% will increase. If he does score 50, 60 or 70 he will need some more powerplay goals. He only had three last year and I think we can all confidently say that number will increase in the future.

He knows he has to shoot more. He wants to shoot more and on Wednesday he had seven shots on net. Last season he had five shots or more in 15 games. He totaled 92 shots in those 15 games, but only scored seven times. If he equaled Crosby’s SH% of 17.3 in those games he’d have scored 16 goals. That is nine more goals right there.

The jump to 60 or 70 goals seems immense, but with a player of McDavid’s ability the suggestion isn’t as outrageous when you dig into his numbers and watch his potential on the ice.

I believe he will reach 70-goals one season. I truly hope Jagr is correct with his bold suggestion of 100 goals, because if he is NHL fans will witness a season none of us thought was possible.

We’re trying to raise as much money as possible for the victims of last Saturday’s attack in Edmonton and we could use your help. Tickets to the Season Launch Party are on sale now for $30 and will remain on sale straight through until the date of the party, or until they sell out — whichever happens first. Your ticket will also enter you into all of the draws for NationGear prizes and the jersey giveaways that will happen throughout the night.

For each ticket you buy, you’ll get one of the exclusive season opener t-shirts (shown above), a $10 Denizen Hall GC, a card for FREE perogies and tacos for a year at the Pint, $10 Oodle Noodle GC, a Nation sticker package, and, most importantly, a chance to kick off the season with your Nation brothers and sisters.